DAVAO CITY — Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division commander Major General Allan Hambala denied having been ordered by Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao Leo Tereso Magno to pull out his troops at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex.
The rumored pullout surfaced hours before the start of the scheduled prayer rally event at the provincial sports complex on Sunday night, April 14.
In a phone interview, Major Gen. Allan Hambala said that he decided to reposition his troops to the second and third layers of the security plan and not upon the order or request of Sec. Magno as rumored.
“I do not get orders from Secretary Magno, when the security map was submitted to me, I noticed that the army was placed on the first layer which is wrong. It is always the PNP in the first layer of security because it is their duty, not the army,” Hambala explained.
Hambala said the first security means crowd control and securing the important guests of every event.
“I decided to reposition my troop because it is the mandate of the PNP to be in the first layer, not us. These things should be clarified, We know our mandate and our responsibility” Hambala emphasized.
” Fake news ‘yong kumalat, they peddled lies at our expense. These known social media bloggers got it all wrong,” he added.
The general said he also had a conversation with Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib explaining why he came up with the decision to reposition the troops.
“I know Secretary Magno, and I do not believe he issued the order,” Jubahib told reporters after the peace rally.
Early Monday, the blogger corrected her content saying they got the wrong information.
